By Iliana Pagano, Year 12
In the last 50 or so years, quantum computing has been the gateway to the future, giving us never-before-seen processing powers at smaller and smaller sizes. In only 17 years, the tech giant Microsoft has been able to create a new state of matter, topological superconductor, around their new revolutionizing quantum computing chip, unveiling the Majorana 1 on February 29th, 2025, and this chip might be the breakthrough we needed to put quantum computing to practical use.
The Problem with Qubits
Traditional computing utilizes bits (units of data) that are represented by either ones or zeros. Quantum computing, on the other hand, uses qubits, which can exist in both states simultaneously, enabling superior capabilities. However, even though these qubits’ computational powers are potent, they are highly susceptible to interference. Therefore, slight interferences as ordinary as the temperature and as intricate as the cosmic radiation waves can disrupt their quantum state. This instability has always rendered it difficult to scale up the quantum computers beyond a maximum of a thousand qubits per chip. Microsoft’s Majorana 1 is set to completely shatter this with their topological qubit model, which, in theory, could push past an equivalent of a million qubits per chip and much more stable chips at that.
How did we get topological qubits?
These new topological qubits will be made possible through Majorana Fermions. First predicted in 1937 by the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana, these particles are unique in that they are their antiparticles. This means that when two Majorana Fermions meet, they annihilate each other, making them incredibly difficult to observe in nature. But in the right conditions, scientists can create quasi-Majorana particles, which behave in similar ways. These Majorana Fermions could be the foundation for a new topological qubit. Unlike regular qubits, topological qubits store information in a more resilient, non-local manner, making them far more stable and less prone to these aforementioned interferences. While IBM and Google have focused on qubits, Microsoft has been one of the only major tech companies heavily investing in topological qubits, playing the long game, attempting to make Majorana-based qubits the golden standard for the future. Hence, the breakthrough of the Majorana 1 chip is the first tangible taste we have had of this research, paving the way for the practical use of topological qubits in large-scale quantum computing. This could present a modern shift in quantum computing to a new age, allowing for more resilient and scalable quantum computing.
The Potential Impact of topological qubits
The implications of a stable quantum computer are plentiful. Problems that would usually take classical supercomputers millions of years to solve could be cracked in mere minutes in fields such as, but not limited to:
- Cryptography: breaking down weak encryptions to create better unbreakable ones
- Drug Discovery: simulating a plethora of molecules destined to design new medicine
- Optimization Problems: faster resolution of logistical and financial optimization issues
- AI: enhancing machine learning and data analysis speeds
What’s Next?
Even though this breakthrough gives us incredible optimism for the upcoming years, this chip won’t be used tomorrow. Even with these much more stable chips, there are still immense engineering challenges in building large-scale systems to accommodate these. However, Majorana 1 is an important step forward towards the practical use of quantum computing. Microsoft plans to integrate the Majorana 1 chip into Azure Quantum, its cloud-based quantum computing service, allowing researchers and developers to test its capabilities. If topological qubits prove to be as stable as Microsoft hopes, they will most likely leap ahead of competitors like Google and IBM, who are currently struggling with high error rates in their superconducting qubits. For now, the race is still on, but with Majorana Fermions, we could be on the verge of a new quantum-computing era.
https://www.theverge.com/news/614205/microsoft-quantum-computing-majorana-1-https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/02/21/microsoft-unveils-majorana-1-the-quantum-chip-that-changes-the-future-of-computing-and-revolutionizes-the-ai-world https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3e3252gj8o https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/19/topoconductor-chip-quantum-computing-topological-qubits-Microsoft
